


Who Are You in the Moonlight?

by ThefirstRanger



Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: Ballroom Dancing, F/M, Original Characters - Freeform, Spoilers for Book 8 - Ranger's Apprentice: The Kings of Clonmel, The Early Years - Freeform, Undercover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:27:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23335366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThefirstRanger/pseuds/ThefirstRanger
Summary: Pauline needs a partner to go undercover at a ball with her and the only available ranger is a certain Halt O'Carrick. Halt is less than pleased to be forced to go undercover in the noble that he left, but he's willing to do it for Pauline. He can't keep his old self from bleeding through and Pauline notices more than one would think.
Relationships: Pauline duLacy/Halt O'Carrick
Comments: 16
Kudos: 58





	Who Are You in the Moonlight?

There was rarely a courier mission Pauline couldn’t handle by herself, but there were some missions that were her control. Take for example, the ball being thrown by Baron Smith at the end of the week that was specifically for couples only. Normally this type of mission would be beyond Pauline’s line of duty as she was more of a longer mission courier, but Smith had been rumored to be gathering money and intelligence for Morgarath and the king needed intelligence on that immediately. 

The only problem was that all the couriers Pauline could have asked to go with her were away on missions and all the other options weren’t available. Arald had offered to help out, which is what brought Pauline to his office one fine afternoon.

“Pauline, I know you’ve had many dangerous missions and you can handle your own, but the ball thrown by Baron Smith is specifically for couples only. A ranger is needed.”

“Yes, Arald, I understand that, but why Halt?” Pauline didn’t know why she was arguing so strongly against Halt; she liked him a lot and any chance to see him again would be lovely. But that was her heart talking and her head provided all the reasons Pauline needed to protest. Halt wasn’t trained for this type of undercover work and while Pauline was halfway sure she loved this man, Halt would never pass as a noble.

Arald leaned forward, folding his hands together as he addressed Pauline. "Believe me, I asked Crowley the same thing. He said that Halt was the only ranger available and that he would do a good job. I swear commanding the rangers is already scrambling Crowley's brain." 

A sigh escaped Pauline’s lips, but she resolved to make the most of the situation. 

“At least the ball is next week; we’ll have a little bit of time to give Halt some lessons. Basic dancing, dress...”

“Manners.” Arald caught Pauline’s eye and they both winced, remembering how Halt had stumbled around their first meeting and told them how Morgarath should shove off. It would be an uphill battle, but Pauline was confident she could whip Halt into passably shape before the ball. 

Arald was composed as he started to write a message to Crowley. “I’ll have Crowley send Halt over this evening and I can give him the first lesson tonight on dining.”

Pauline nodded; it was perfect. “I have some paperwork to finish up and I have to check on some couriers tonight, but I can do a lesson tomorrow.”

“Excellent.” Arald sealed up the envelope and motioned for Martin, who had been standing silently in the background, to come forward. “Can you send this to Crowley? Halt needs to see it.”

Martin nodded. “I’ll see to it that he gets it promptly.”

The envelope passed hands and Martin exited. Pauline took this as her cue to leave as well. She had work to do and if she was to be tutoring Halt, she needed as much time as possible. Pauline bid Arald farewell and went to try and take her mind off the fact that she and Halt were going to have to be a couple, for at least a night. The thought was nice and one day Pauline hoped that they could be an actual couple, but there was something… off about Halt. There was always the sense that Halt was hiding a deep secret from everyone and Pauline wasn’t sure how to deal with that. Finding out secrets was literally her job, but she would respect Halt’s wishes for now.  
~  
Arald called Pauline into his office later that day. He wordlessly pushed a scrap of paper towards her. Pauline recognized it as the letter Arald had sent earlier. It had Crowley’s reply and on the back it had the messiest handwriting Pauline had ever seen. 

She looked at Arald. “I can’t read this chicken scratch.” Pauline tried turning the paper sideways; the note still made no sense.

Arald shook his head. “Neither could I. Apparently it’s Halt’s answer.”

“Well, what does it say?” Pauline demanded Arald, anxious to hear his response. Time was of the essence. 

"According to Crowley, Halt has refused to take lessons due to his, and I quote, "busy nature" which prevents him from coming in." 

Arald’s dry tone made it sound so natural that it took a second for Pauline to fully understand the words he was saying. 

“He’s not taking lessons? What does he think he’s going to do at the ball?” 

“Probably shoot them to death.”

This was the worst scenario Pauline could come up with. If she needed a partner to accompany her, Pauline had to be able to trust her partner and there was no way that Pauline would be able to leave Halt’s side and do investigating on her own if she had to cover for Halt all night. 

“Go talk to Halt, see if you can convince him to change his mind.” Arald didn’t need to tell Pauline twice. Before he had even finished the sentence, Pauline was up out of her chair and heading toward the door. There was a reckoning coming and no one would stand in her way.  
~  
Pauline could see Halt sitting on the porch of his cabin, looking out toward the town and trees. Busy nature, her foot. Halt wasn’t doing anything; he could easily come to the lessons. 

“Halt Arratay, care to explain why you are refusing lessons for this important undercover mission?” Pauline’s voice was higher than she wanted it to be at the moment, but she thought she still sounded demanding and properly intimidating. 

Halt leaned back on his elbows and stared up at Pauline with his dark eyes. “Don’t need ‘em.” He looked like he should have a stalk of wheat sticking out of his mouth. Halt had never seemed so casual.

Pauline scoffed. “I don’t believe that.” She had taken years of etiquette classes to learn all the minute details of noble life and she still didn’t know all of them; there was no way Halt would know enough to pass. 

A smirk emerged on Halt’s lips, not that Pauline was staring at them, and he tilted his head towards hers. “You better believe it because I’m not taking lessons on manners. Mine are fine as they are right now.”

“Halt, you told Morgarath to, politely put, shove one up his-” 

A blush spread across Halt’s face as he remembered the exact expression he had used the first time he met Pauline. “Okay, okay, you don’t have to repeat it.” 

“So you’ll come to the lesson tonight?” Pauline was hopeful, but that hope was dashed with his answer. 

“No, I’m not taking lessons.”

"You have to!" 

"No. I don't." Halt was firm in his answer, but Pauline could still detect a bit of a joking tone in his words. 

"Why are you being so stubborn? Let me help you."

There was no trace of humor left on Halt’s face as he stood up and got real close to Pauline. “Listen, do you trust me or not?” 

She had not been expecting that and yet there was no other answer for Pauline except a resounding “Yes.” Halt stepped back and Pauline was just a bit disappointed. 

“Then let this go. It’s for the best.”

Pauline hated going in unprepared, unplanned, but she would go with her gut and trust Halt’s word. There was clearly no arguing with him. Something about him made her want to dive into the future. She shook those thoughts out of her head and started briskly talking again.

“I’ll see you tomorrow for your fitting appointment at least; you’ll need clothes to dress the part. Arald has some of the best seamstresses, even one that fitted royalty in Clonmel years ago. ”

Halt’s head started up like he hadn’t thought of that idea. There was a flash of panic in his eyes and Pauline wondered what had inspired that fear. 

“Do you trust me?” The desperation was obvious in Halt’s voice as he pleaded with Pauline. “If you trust me, don’t make me go. I will take care of everything. I promise.”

Pauline was shocked at the raw emotion Halt was showing. “Halt, manners I can excuse, but clothes make the man…”

“Please?”

Even in the short time Pauline had known Halt, she knew he wasn’t the type of man to beg or say please. She had never seen him this desperate. This was important to him and so she relented. 

"I trust you Halt." 

“I won’t let you down.”  
~  
Pauline had been worried all week and she wasn't alone. Arald had enlisted Martin to join his letter writing campaign and the two of them wrote some heated but polite letters to Crowley about Halt’s refusal. Eventually, the only reply they got from Crowley was a beleaguered note that read “You think I can control what Halt does?”

Arald had to admit that was fair, but it didn’t mean he liked the answer. Pauline didn’t like it either, but no one could ever say that Pauline duLacy wasn’t flexible. She would play with the hand she had been dealt and if that meant dragging Halt alongside her everywhere, so be it.

There had been a note on Pauline’s desk in Halt’s chicken scratch saying that he would meet her by the manor of Baron Smith this evening. If Pauline had been nervous before, her nerves skyrocketed after reading that note. It just wasn’t done. 

It turned out that at least some of her worries were for naught. Halt was exactly where he said he’d be in front of the manor, waiting for her. 

“Halt O’Carrick, at your service.” Halt bowed low and deep. As he came up, Pauline could see every detail, every stitch of his clothing was immaculate. She wasn’t sure how he had gotten the right type of clothing, but it was nicer than anything Pauline could have provided. 

Pauline curtsied in return, careful not to let the hem of her dress brush in the mud, and was surprised to see Halt’s arm offered to her when she came up. 

“Oh!” She let out a soft gasp and Halt smiled gently at her. 

He started to lead the way to the thick oak doors and Pauline was struck by the way Halt carried himself. It was so self-assured and confident unlike his normal way of slinking around. Halt had never seemed to regret or waste an action, but he had never actively courted attention the way he was now. Tonight, he was practically begging to be the center of attention. 

Halt snuck a glance at Pauline and he couldn’t help himself; he had to smile. They weren’t even past the doors yet and Pauline fit in so well here. She had an air of quiet royalty around her, one that he couldn’t resist. This was her playing field and Halt was just a willing pawn in her game. 

Once they were inside, a butler asked for their names and Halt smoothly provided the names Pauline duLacy and Duke Michael McDonough. 

Their names rang out into the enormous ballroom and a few heads glanced their way. A Hibernian duke at an Araluen ball? That was something to take note of. 

They glided into the ballroom and Pauline had to talk. “Duke McDonough, is he a real duke?”

It wasn't meant to be a silly question, but Halt looked at her in amusement. “He’s real enough. A well-mannered, ditzy duke who likes his alcohol a bit too much.”

That didn’t answer her question so she decided to lean in and murmur in his ear. “I’ll find out your secrets McDonough.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Halt whispered back and it sent a thrill down Pauline’s spine. They were immediately swarmed by a horde of curious nobles clamoring for a chance to meet the mysterious new duke. A glass of wine suddenly appeared in Pauline’s hand and Halt had an identical glass in his. Halt twirled the expensive wine around in his glass and let out an obnoxious laugh that fit in perfectly with the nobles. 

Halt’s brogue was even thicker than before and if Pauline hadn’t known the ranger underneath, she would have really believed he was a Hibernian duke. He looked the part and he sounded the part. The brogue, the inane topics of conversation, it all sounded real and Halt never stumbled. The conversation was aimless chit chat until someone brought up Hibernia. 

“Did you hear about the coronation of King Ferris? Such a shame what happened to his brother…”

Halt’s jaw stiffened ever so slightly and Pauline didn’t know why. The nobles talked among themselves and Pauline and Halt politely listened, but inevitably, the attention turned to Halt.

“Duke McDonough, you’re from Hibernia, correct? Did you attend the coronation?” 

Halt’s voice was casual, too casual to be real when he responded to the innocent question. “Ah no, unfortunately I was in the middle of the ocean when it happened.”

This caught the couple’s attention. “Were you sailing over here and missed the coronation? That’s a tragedy.”

Halt smiled and it wasn’t his normal, rare smile; it was an utterly charming grin. “Yes, I was sad to miss it, but I must tell you that I saw a selkie on the way and it was an experience one must have…” 

Everyone gathered around him, eager to hear his tale. Halt had to chuckle a little; no one realized that he was telling them an old wive’s tale that his mother had told him when he was little.

Rather than listen to Halt’s story, Pauline took the time to scan the ballroom. Baron Smith was still making the rounds around the room

Out of the corner of her eye, Pauline saw a couple making their way over to her and she mentally groaned. 

“What’s wrong?” murmured Halt in her ear. Somehow he must have sensed her or noticed a change in her posture. Pauline made a note to ask him about that when he had time. If there was a tell in her behavior, it would be good to know about it.

“The couple coming towards us, the Buchanans, are some of the most obnoxious and empty headed people I have ever met.”

Halt frowned playfully. “Aren’t you supposed to be more diplomatic in your assessments of people?”

“You’ll see and then you’ll agree with me.”

There was no time for Halt to respond as Lord and Lady Buchanan flounced up. Dripping with jewels and giving off an air of superiority, Halt could already see why Pauline disliked them. 

“Pauline!” squealed Lady Buchanan as Lord Buchanan gave Halt an appraising once over. He didn’t seem to be impressed by what he saw. 

“Elizabeth,” replied Pauline, trying to muster up some enthusiasm.

“It’s been ages since I saw you last. You simply must come visit our estate; it’s 1,700 acres you know.” Elizabeth Buchanan was one of those people who could not resist dropping in every conversation how rich they were. 

“Your estate is only 1,700 acres? Pauline, my love, why didn’t you tell me estates were so tiny in Araluen?” Pauline had to stifle a laugh at the shocked face Halt was making and the offended look on Elizabeth’s face. 

Lord Buchanan bristled. “My estate is one of the largest in all of Araluen!”

“Oh I’m sure it is,” simpered Halt, the picture of an adult trying to humor a child. “But my estate in Hibernia is well over 4,500 acres.”

“You must be new money. The Buchanan estate…” Lord Buchana was going to continue, but Halt cut him off. 

“Buchanan, eh?” asked Halt. To anyone else, the question would have sounded amicable, but Pauline could hear the sharpness underneath. He was setting a trap. “You must come from some Scotti nobility.”

Lord Buchanan swelled up with pride. “Yes we do, though the Buchanans came to Araluen a long time ago due to a trade agreement with King Herbert. Our lineage is very distinguished.”

“Wasn’t it Buchanan the one who sold out his regiment to the high king of Clonmel in exchange for riches?”

A grimace of pain flashed onto Buchanan’s face. “Yes, but that ended up being a setup for the king and my ancestor double-crossed him.”

Halt stepped a little closer, the grin on his face was like the tip of a dagger aiming for the heart. “That’s not the story that’s told in Clonmel. Buchanan is the most revered traitor in our history. Do you want to know how I know that?”

Buchanan had a look of revulsion on his face, but he couldn’t step away; Halt had him in an iron grip. “Not really.”

“My ancestors were the ones who told Buchanan to lie so we could get information on the Scotti tribes. You think you come from a long line of nobility?” Halt laughed, a grating and ill-tempered chuckle. “My ancestors were ruling in castles while yours were still in the dirt. Your line was all because of my forefathers and their cunning. See that don’t you forget it.”

Suddenly Halt let go and Buchanan stumbled back. 

“Come on Elizabeth, I see someone else we have to talk to.”

The Buchanans swept off and Pauline was shocked. That was the quickest conversation she had ever had with the stuffy couple. She should bring Halt to all the balls she had to go to. 

“That was exhausting. I can see why you dislike them.” Halt let out a breath like it really had exhausted him. Pauline could relate.

“They doubled the taxes of their renters and then kept the extra money. When confronted about it, they claimed it had all been a clerical mistake.”

Halt turned to look at her in surprise. “Why didn’t you tell me that earlier? I would have been much more irritating towards them!”

“You could’ve been more irritating?” She found that hard to believe; every word Halt had uttered to Lord Buchanan Pauline had heard and it was hard to believe that Halt could have lowered their egos any more. 

“Pauline, I practically invented the irritating stuffy noble move.” 

That made her laugh, but in the back of her mind she wondered if Halt had been undercover as a noble before. It would explain some things, but not everything. 

Before she could ask him, Halt hissed under his breath. “I see our friend Smith is making a move.” 

“Let’s go.” Pauline pulled Halt into her arms and dragged him onto the dance floor. Most likely Smith was moving onto another group of nobles, but there was a chance that he was making his move. The dance floor would provide them with a better vantage point. 

The music swelled and Pauline felt light on her feet as Halt swung her to the swells of the violin. She hadn’t known Halt knew such a complicated dance. Another piece of the mystery that made up Halt O’Carrick.

“So are you going to tell me what that little display was all about?” She gestured her head towards the Buchanans. 

Halt smiled in response and dipped her. 

“Smith is talking with one of his butlers, an older man with gray hair.” 

From her dip, Pauline could see the exchange happening and she could see how Halt had dodged the question. 

“I see him.” A soft yank and Pauline’s face was next to Halt’s. “He looks annoyed that this exchange is happening now.” 

Another twirl. Halt could see Pauline scanning the ballroom, trying to figure out where Smith was heading next. She was so focused and determined; he loved that about her. 

“Smith’s finally heading upstairs.” Halt couldn’t tell if the flush on Pauline’s cheek and the sparkle of excitement in her eyes was from the dancing or the fact that Smith was finally doing something. 

He offered a charming smile. “Shall we go see what our esteemed host is doing?”

Pauline offered a dazzling smile in return. “I’d like nothing more, McDonough.”  
~  
Halt and Pauline followed the baron to a hidden alcove above the action. The faintest strains of music could be heard as they saw Smith duck into a dark corner and greet a hooded man. Halt pulled Pauline back to a reasonable distance away and motioned to a white marble pillar. The pillar was so small Halt and Pauline were practically smushed together; if Pauline pressed her face forward anymore, she’d be kissing Halt. 

They could just make out the fervent whisper of the baron and the hooded man. 

“Are you sure you have the false records, Andreas?” 

“Yes, my lord. The false ledgers will be planted in the duke’s office and their discovery will force him to give you the land.” The hooded man, Andreas apparently, handed the ledgers over to Smith who started to rifle through them. 

This was exactly the type of evidence Pauline needed. She nudged Halt who had come to the same conclusion. They only needed to get the ledgers to take down Smith. Halt tried to shift a little closer, but there wasn’t enough space. 

Blast it, despite his training and previous experience, Halt wasn’t used to sneaking around in the royal tunic and chains. He brushed up against the pillar and the thick chain scraped loudly against the marble. 

Immediately, Baron Smith swiveled his head towards them and the hooded man melted into the shadows. 

“Who’s there?” Smith demanded, his eyes blazing. 

Pauline knew they would be seen and apparently Halt had come to the same conclusion because he popped up giggling. Halt never giggled. 

“You caught us baron!”

Baron Smith was shocked. He hadn’t expected anyone to actually appear. “Wait, us?”

Pauline popped up and tried to keep a guileless look on her face. She didn’t think it was exactly working, but Halt took her arm and snuggled up to her rather erratically. Pauline had bluffed her way out of several situations like this before, but looking into Baron Smith’s eyes, she wasn't sure he’d believe her excuses. The baron was made out of steel. She had several excuses on the tip of her tongue, but Halt beat her to it. 

He looked at her for only a moment, a plea of forgiveness in his eyes, before turning to Smith with a grin that was too self-satisfactory for it to ever appear on Halt’s face. 

“Heh, please excuse us Baron. We were just looking for somewhere…” Here Halt paused like he was trying to find the right word, but his alcohol addled brain couldn’t find it. Suddenly his face lit up. “Some place private.”

Pauline knew exactly what he was doing and she did her best to look away demurely. The baron stared at them suspiciously like he didn’t believe a word Halt said. And then Smith made a mistake. 

“You didn’t see anyone else with me, did you?” growled the baron. If that wasn’t a statement of guilt, Pauline wasn’t sure what was. She let Halt take the lead, still playing the role of the embarrassed girlfriend. Halt grinned again and lurched toward the baron suddenly in a drunken lumber. The two men collided and Smith angrily pushed Halt away. 

“Oof!” yelped Halt, but there was no hurt in his tone, only amusement. “Don’t worry Baron, your secret love affair is safe with us.”

Halt mimed zipping his lips as Pauline pulled him gently back into her arms. He turned his head and gave her a tender kiss, a silent thank you.

Even though she wanted Halt to keep going, Pauline gently pushed him off. “Not in front of the baron,” she said, jerking her head toward the noble. 

Smith sneered in disgust as he stalked off, apparently convinced that they were harmless. 

“Go to the garden if you must.” 

As Halt gently pulled her away from the baron, he guided her towards the garden with a dopey wave over his shoulder. Baron Smith stared at him for a moment, perhaps wondering who the empty headed Hibernian was, before heading inside with a shrug. It was of no concern to him. Other than the meddling at the end, his acquaintance had remained unseen.  
~  
The garden was awash with moonlight and a marble bench beckoned them. As soon as they got into the garden, it was like Halt shed his skin. He slumped down and his face darkened to his normal scowl. There was no trace of the genial Duke Michael McDonough in his features at all. 

Neither of them knew how to talk about what had just happened, but Halt broke the silence first. 

“I'm sorry about that. It was the only thing I could think of that he would believe.” Sincerity was laced in his words and yet Pauline wasn’t concerned about the kiss. They didn’t have the ledgers or any concrete evidence which was the whole point of the evening. 

As if he could read her mind, Halt reached into his fine cloak and pulled out a thick wad of papers. Of course Halt had the ledgers. 

Pauline murmured “You are just full of surprises,” as she reached for the papers. This was exactly what she needed. 

“Nicked ‘em off of our favorite baron when I bumped into him.” Halt’s brogue was almost gone, but his voice was still rough, almost like he was trying to convince Pauline of something. 

Something just wasn’t adding up with Halt and she had to know why.

“I don’t understand you Halt. You put on a big show of hating finery and having no manners, but when push comes to shove, you have a better air of nobility than the actual nobles.” He also had excellent pickpocketing skills, but Pauline felt it wouldn’t be tactful to mention that.

Halt winced. 

“I didn’t know you were paying such close attention to me.” For any other man, that line would have been a chance to flirt, but with Halt, it was more of a quiet resignation, an acceptance of the idea that he wasn’t invisible as he might have liked to be.

The emotion she felt scared Pauline, but she answered truthfully. “I always pay attention to you.” Was she actually flirting with Halt right now? Pauline couldn’t believe herself. And was he going to flirt back? Pauline couldn’t reconcile the side of Halt she had seen tonight with the man she had known. 

His voice was husky. "You are the only person I would let see this side of me."

Pauline was flattered for a moment before the deeper meaning of his words started to sink in.

"Halt, why haven't you told anyone about your past?" Pauline had an inkling of why he hadn't  
told anyone.

If Halt had been a noble in Hibernia, it wouldn't change anything. If there was another heir or even another person willing to take up the mantle, legally there was nothing that would force Halt to go back to Hibernia. He could stay in Araluen; he could stay with… her.

Halt looked away, but Pauline looked closer. His features were strong and in the moonlight, she could imagine him being a secret noble.

Halt's voice cracked. "My past is complicated and it would change everything, believe me. I  
can't lose this life."

He looked his age there; only a few years past being an adult. Pauline had forgotten how young he was, how young they all were. 

“I’m not going to force you to tell me. I’ll respect your decision.”

“No Pauline, I need to tell you the truth. Tonight made me realize that someone needs to know.” There was the tiniest drop of sweat on Halt’s brow and Pauline wasn’t quite sure why she was so aware of it. 

Pauline was starting to get alarmed at the way Halt was speaking and how emotional he was getting. She laid a hand on his arm in an effort to get him to calm down.

"Halt, truly, you don't have to explain yourself. So what if you were part of the nobility in Hibernia; we're in Araluen, you have your own life here."

“Pauline, you don’t understand! I wasn’t part of the Hibernian noble class- I was the Hibernian noble class. I wasn’t a duke of Clonmel; I was a prince, the first prince of Clonmel and heir to the throne, Ferris Cathan Niall O’Carrick.”

The name was familiar to her ears; she had studied the Clonmel case as part of her final courier study. The name was familiar, but she wasn’t processing everything right. She studied his strong face again, thinking about the brief charcoal sketch she had seen of the former king of Clonmel and the current king.

“The prince who died.” murmured Pauline. How wrong she had been. Everything made sense now. Halt’s manners, the clothing, the way he avoided talking about his life in Hibernia. 

Halt slumped down at her words, a much different man than the one who had swept Pauline into the garden. His fine clothes looked rumpled and she could see the slight stains on them. Wear and tear that would be explained from making the trip to Araluen from Clonmel.

“They made your brother look quite different.” The jaws were different between the portrait and real life and it was obvious now that the painter had been trying to give Ferris a commanding presence, but hadn’t succeeded. 

“Ferris was always quite vain,” grumbled Halt. “I’m not surprised his portrait is altered.” 

Pauline couldn’t quite hold back her snort, which quickly turned into a full blown laugh. Halt smiled beside her. It felt good to laugh after such a stressful time.

“Is he truly that horrid?” There had to be some reason why Halt hadn’t gone back to Clonmel yet and Pauline wasn’t self-delusional enough to pretend she was the reason. No, something in Clonmel was keeping him away. 

Halt sighed and it was deep and weary. There was no way he was going to even come close to breaching the truth about Ferris with Pauline yet. He just couldn’t talk about it, couldn’t talk about why he wasn’t going back. “Everything you saw tonight was all Ferris.”

He couldn’t understand how much that fact hit Pauline. First, the fact that his apparently awful brother had so much of an impact on him and secondly that he had been pretending the whole night. There had to be some part of Halt that he hadn’t been faking.

“Everything?”

A glance towards her and a reluctant admittance. “Not everything.”

Pauline couldn’t help but angle closer toward him. There was hope. 

“All the surprises tonight, it’s like they won’t stop coming.” She normally wasn’t fazed by anything, but Halt had thrown her off her game. First with his undercover skills and then his bombshell secret. It was overwhelming and Pauline was sure the full ramifications of tonight would catch up with her tomorrow, but for now, she only wanted Halt to kiss her again. 

Halt glanced at her, the softest smile gracing his features. “Do you want the surprises to stop coming?”

She had to answer truthfully. “No, I don’t”

“Then I’d like to surprise you again.” It was like Halt was reading her mind. He leaned forward and Pauline went to meet him, their lips meeting in a tangle of unsaid love.


End file.
